Simultaneous display of multiple maximized applications on touch screen electronic devices

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides for a touch screen electronic device to display two or more running applications simultaneously in a side-by-side layout in a split screen mode of the device. Two or more applications that are running on an operating system of the device can be easily displayed simultaneously in the split screen mode while maintaining one of the displayed applications as active so that the user can provide user inputs to the active application.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/353,505 filed Jan. 19, 2012, the entire disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference and to which the instantapplication claims priority.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a method for displaying maximizedapplications simultaneously on a touch screen of a mobile electronicdevice.

BACKGROUND

When using a mobile electronic device to running various applications,one application is generally in full screen mode and maximized anddisplayed on the full screen, while the remaining open applications mayrun in the background. This scenario is considered multi-tasking, andshortcuts may allow the user to quickly jump between various runningapplications or “apps.” However, a user of the electronic device with atouch screen can only interact with and view one application at anygiven time in full screen mode. There is not a user interface or methodthat allows two applications to be displayed simultaneously on a mobileelectronic device touch screen.

Electronic devices, including mobile electronic devices, with full touchscreens have a constant touch screen size and resolution that equates toa specific aspect ratio of the viewable area of the touch screen. Thisaspect ratio is used in application software coding to allow anapplication to be optimized for the full screen experience. In order todisplay two applications simultaneously in a split screen mode, the twoapplications would have to share the touch screen's viewable area,resulting in a different aspect ratio. Since applications are codedbased on aspect ratio, developers would have to reprogram theirapplications to allow multiple viewable area states to account for whenan application is in full screen mode and for when the application is insplit screen mode. A way to display multiple applications simultaneouslyon a touch screen of a mobile electronic device would be advantageous.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described belowwith reference to the included drawings such that like referencenumerals refer to like elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a mobile electronic device, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example functional representation of theelectronic device of FIG. 1, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a front view of an electronic device having a larger touchscreen, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example functional representation of theelectronic device of FIG. 3, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 5a-5d illustrate the formation and activation of a combined grouprepresentation representative of two or more running applications thatare running on the electronic device of FIG. 3, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 6a-6b and 7a-7b illustrate switching the active runningapplication, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 8a-8b illustrate ungrouping of a combined group representation, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 9a-d illustrate the aspect ratio of a touch screen vis-à-vis tworesulting split screen mode viewing areas of the touch screen, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate examples of maximized and displayed runningapplications in the split screen mode, in accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 12a-d, 13a-d, 14a-d, and 15a-d illustrate examples of the sharefunctionality between two or more running applications, in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 16 and 17 illustrate flows in accordance with various aspects ofthe present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The various examples presented herein outline methods, user interfaces,and electronic devices that allow a touch screen electronic device todisplay two or more running applications simultaneously in aside-by-side layout in a split screen mode. Two or more applicationsthat are running on an operating system of the device can be easilydisplayed simultaneously in the split screen mode while maintaining oneof the displayed applications as active so that the user can continue toprovide user inputs to the active application. The active status may beeasily switched from one of the displayed running applications toanother of the displayed running applications. This displaying isimplemented in a way that does not require application developers torewrite their application software to account for the multiple viewstates of a full screen mode and a split screen mode.

For simplicity and clarity of illustration, reference numerals may berepeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogouselements. Numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding ofthe embodiments described herein. The embodiments may be practicedwithout these details. In other instances, well-known methods,procedures, and components have not been described in detail to avoidobscuring the embodiments described. The description is not to beconsidered as limited to the scope of the embodiments described herein.

Therefore, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure,there is provided a method of displaying maximized applicationssimultaneously on a touch screen of an electronic device, comprising:creating a combined group representation representative of two or morerunning applications, wherein the combined group representationcomprises two or more application representations that are grouped anddisplayed on a viewable area of the touch screen and wherein the two ormore application representations correspond to minimized states ofdisplay of the two or more running applications; and in response toselection of the combined group representation, entering a split screenmode and in the split screen mode opening and simultaneously displayingin the viewable area of the touch screen the two or more runningapplications, wherein a running application of the two or more runningapplications opened and simultaneously displayed is active and capableof receiving user inputs.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, there isprovided an electronic device, comprising: a touch-sensitive touchscreen; a processor coupled to the touch screen; a memory coupled to andin cooperative arrangement with the processor, the processor and thememory configured to: create a combined group representation of two ormore application representations representative of two or more runningapplications in response to the two or more application representationsbeing grouped together on the touch screen, wherein the two or moreapplication representations correspond to minimized states of display ofthe two or more running applications; and in response to selection ofthe combined group representation, enter a split screen mode of theelectronic device in which the two or more running applications areopened and simultaneously displayed in the viewable area of the touchscreen, wherein a running application of the two or more displayedrunning applications is active and capable of receiving user inputs.

In accordance with still further aspects of the present disclosure,there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable medium havingcomputer-executable instructions for displaying maximized applicationssimultaneously on a touch screen of an electronic device, comprising:creating a combined group representation representative of two or morerunning applications, wherein the combined group representationcomprises two or more application representations that are grouped anddisplayed on a viewable area of the touch screen and wherein the two ormore application representations correspond to minimized states ofdisplay of the two or more running applications; and in response toselection of the combined group representation, entering a split screenmode and in the split screen mode opening and simultaneously displayingin the viewable area of the touch screen the two or more runningapplications, wherein a running application of the two or more runningapplications opened and simultaneously displayed is active and capableof receiving user inputs.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example electronic device 100 inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Electronic device 100may be a mobile or portable device with a touch-sensitive touch screen.Examples of such electronic devices include mobile phones, cellularphones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digitalcameras, wireless organizers, wirelessly enabled notebook computers,tablet computing devices, handheld electronic gaming devices, digitalphotograph albums, and the like. Electronic device 100 has a touchscreen 110 for displaying information, and may also have a keyboard 120for entering information such as composing email messages, and apointing device 130 such as a trackball, track wheel, touchpad, and thelike, for navigating through items on screen 110. Navigation keys 140and 150 may be used for navigating content. In some examples, display110 is a touch screen and the plurality of keys and/or keyboard are softkeys or icons displayed on display 110 and actuated by a human finger ora stylus.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example functional representation of theelectronic device 100 of FIG. 1, in accordance with certain aspects ofthe present disclosure. Electronic device 100 includes multiplecomponents, such as a processor 202 that controls the overall operationof electronic device 100. Communication functions, including data andvoice communications, are performed through a communication subsystem204. Communication subsystem 204 receives data from and sends data to anetwork 250, such as a wide area network, in long-range communication.An example of the data sent or received by the communication subsystemincludes but is not limited to email messages, short messaging service(SMS), instant messages, web content, and other electronic content. Thewireless network 250 is, for example, a cellular network. In someexamples, network 250 is a WIMAX network, a wireless local area network(WLAN) connected to the Internet, or any other suitable communicationsnetwork. In other examples, other wireless networks are contemplated,including, but not limited to, data wireless networks, voice wirelessnetworks, and networks that support both voice and data communications.

A power source 242, such as one or more rechargeable batteries, a portto an external power supply, a fuel cell, or a solar cell, powerselectronic device 100.

The processor 202 interacts with other functional components, such asRandom Access Memory (RAM) 208, memory 210, a touch screen 110 (such as,for example, a LCD) which is operatively connected to an electroniccontroller 216 so that together they comprise a display subsystem 218,an input/output (I/O) subsystem 224, a data port 226, a speaker 228, amicrophone 230, short-range communications subsystem 232, and othersubsystems 234. It will be appreciated that the electronic controller216 of the display subsystem 218 need not be physically integrated withthe touch screen 110.

The auxiliary I/O subsystems 224 could include input devices other thanthe touch screen if desired, such as one or more control keys, akeyboard or keypad, navigational tool (input device), or both. Thenavigational tool could be a clickable/depressible trackball or scrollwheel, or touchpad. User-interaction with a graphical user interface isperformed through the I/O subsystem 224.

Electronic device 100 also includes one or more clocks including asystem clock (not shown) and sleep clock (not shown). In other examples,a single clock operates as both system clock and sleep clock. The sleepclock is a lower power, lower frequency clock.

To identify a subscriber for network access, electronic device 100 usesa Subscriber Identity Module or a Removable User Identity Module(SIM/RUIM) card 238 for communication with a network, such as thewireless network 250. Alternatively, user identification information isprogrammed into memory 210.

Electronic device 100 includes an operating system 246 and softwareprograms, subroutines or components 248 that are executed by theprocessor 202 and are typically stored in a persistent, updatable storesuch as the memory 210. In some examples, software programs orapplications 248 include, for example, personal information managementapplication; communications applications such as Instant Messaging (IM),presentation and email applications; messaging applications; video gameapplications; web browser applications; photo applications; addressapplications; music applications; and the like. As will be describedfurther below, such applications may be represented by a representativeicon or image. Additional applications or programs can be loaded ontoelectronic device 100 through data port 226, for example. In someexamples, programs are loaded over the wireless network 250, theauxiliary I/O subsystem 224, the short-range communications subsystem232, or any other suitable subsystem 234.

An electronic content manager 280 is included in memory 210 of device100. Electronic content manager 280 enables device 100 to fetch,download, send, receive, and display electronic content as will bedescribed in detail below.

An electronic content repository 290 is also included in memory 210 ofdevice 100. The electronic content repository or database, 290 storeselectronic content such as electronic books, videos, music, multimedia,photos, and the like.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an illustration of an electronic device 300having a larger touch screen 310 is presented, in accordance with anexample of the present disclosure. The electronic device 300 has ahousing 320 which holds a large touch screen display 310 suitable forviewing visual electronic content such as electronic books, photos,videos, and the like. The mobile device 300 includes an input subsystem430 (indicated within dashed lines in FIG. 3) that in addition to thetouch screen display may include keys 330, 340, 350, 360, 370, and 380,located in the housing 320 of the device. For example, menu key 370 isused to cause the electronic device 300 to render on display 310 agraphical user interface (GUI), action key 360 is used to initiate anaction by activating an element from the GUI, and escape key 350 is usedto cancel the last action performed or return to a previous screen onthe GUI. Of course, these keys may be soft keys or icons displayed ontouch screen 310 and actuated by a human finger or stylus.

Navigation keys 330 and 340 are used, for example, to navigate forwardsand backwards within content viewed on touch screen display 310,respectively. As an example, keys 330 and 340 are used to flip pageswhen viewing an electronic book, to navigate to a different scene invideo content, or to select a different audio track to play. The homekey 380 causes the mobile electronic device 300 to render on touchscreen display 310 a default home screen (not shown). Electronic device300 also comprises a speaker (not shown) for playing back audio content,the audio component of video content, or audio produced bytext-to-speech of text content, multimedia, and the like.

In various aspects of the disclosure, touch screen 310 serves as adisplay and an interface between a user and the device 300. Touch screen310 and the plurality of keys 330, 340, 350, 360, 370, and 380 may besoft keys or icons displayed on touch screen display 310 and actuated bya human finger or a stylus.

FIG. 4 provides an example functional representation of electronicdevice 300. Additionally, FIG. 4 may provide an alternate example of ablock diagram representation of the electronic device 300 of FIG. 3. Asshown in FIG. 4, electronic device 300 has a processor 410 that controlsthe overall operation of the electronic device 300. Short-rangecommunications subsystem 440, such as a BLUETOOTH® subsystem, is coupledto processor 410 provides short-range communications capability used forsending and receiving electronic content at mobile electronic device300. A data port 460, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, is usedfor sending and receiving electronic content at mobile electronic device300.

Memory 420 may be a Flash memory chip and contains an operating systemand other software modules subroutines utilized by processor 410 tooperate electronic device 300. Memory 420 also contains modules forcarrying out the methods of the present disclosure, as will be describedbelow. Software programs or applications that may reside in memory 420may include personal information management applications; communicationsapplications such as Instant Messaging (IM), presentation and emailapplications; messaging applications; video game applications; webbrowser applications; photo applications; address applications; musicapplications; and the like. As will be described further below, suchapplications may be represented by a representative icon or image.Additional applications or programs can be loaded onto electronic device300 through data port 460, for example.

Electronic device 300 also includes an input subsystem 430 forcontrolling the device, navigating through content, selecting content toplayback, and the like. Input subsystem 430 may also include, forexample, keys 330, 340, 350, 360, 370, and 380, described above. Inputsubsystem 430 may comprise a touchpad, a trackball, a roller wheel, atouch screen with or without a stylus, or any other suitable inputdevice.

A power source 450, such as a battery, is used to power up the processor410, memory 420, and other subsystems on electronic device 300. In someexamples, power source 450 is a power supply connector, a fuel cell, asolar cell, or any other suitable power source.

Touch screen 310 of output subsystem 435 may be, for example, a liquidcrystal display (LCD) coupled to processor 410 and displays electroniccontent as described above. Touch screen display 310 may be a lightemitting diode (LED) display, a plasma display, an electronic inkdisplay (e-ink), a Thin Film Transistor (TFT) LCD, or any other suitabledisplay type. Operation of touch screen display 310 is controlled bydisplay controller 475. Touch screen display 470 corresponds to touchscreen 310 of FIG. 3 and is controlled by display controller 475 asshown.

Electronic device 300 also has speaker 480 for playing back audiocontent, the audio component of video content, or audio produced bytext-to-speech of text content, and the like.

In some examples of the disclosure, short-range communications subsystem440 is a wireless local area network (WLAN) subsystem, an Infra Red DataAssociation (IrDA) subsystem, or a ZIGBEE® subsystem. Other short-rangecommunications subsystems would also be apparent to those of skill inthe art.

Data port 460 is a serial port according to the RS-232 specifications,an IEEE 1394 FireWire port, an optical connection, a local area network(LAN) connection such as Ethernet, or any other suitable datacommunications port.

Memory 420 may be a Random Access Memory (RAM), a serial electricallyerasable programmable read only memory (SEEPROM), a removable securedigital (SD) card, a removable compact flash card, a USB flash drive, orany other suitable memory module as would be apparent to those of skillin the art.

As previously described, software programs or applications, referred toherein as applications, may be running on an electronic device have atouch screen with a viewable area. Such running applications may berepresented in the viewable area of the touch screen as icons, screenshots or other minimized state application representations that are notmaximized for display within the viewable area. In FIGS. 5a-5d ,graphical user interfaces displayed via a viewable area of a touchscreen of an electronic device illustrate the formation and activationof a combined group representation representative of two or more runningapplications that are running on the electronic device. Referring now toFIG. 5a , an electronic device 510 with a viewable area of 520 of atouch screen is shown. There are multiple applications running in thebackground. The user can use a shortcut or go back to their home screento get a set of icons, “screen shots”, or other applicationrepresentations that indicate to them all the currently runningapplications. In this example, three icons or other representations 522,524, 526 corresponding to minimized states of display of three runningapplications are shown. As is known, any of the three applications maybe selected and maximized by selection of its icon.

In accordance with the disclosure, a user may group two or more of theseapplication representations to create a combined group representation530 as shown in FIG. 5b . This can be accomplished by overlaying(pinching) together two or more application icons, or two or moreminimized applications (screen shots), e.g., in a ribbon or taskbar. Inthe example of FIG. 5a , the grouping may be accomplished by overlayingicons 522 and 524 by pinching the icons 522 and 524 together, asindicated by the arrows. A user may place a finger, digit or otherappropriate stylus on each of the two icons to be combined 522, 524, asindicated by the circles 528 on icons 522, 524 and the arrows indicatingthe pinching motion, and dragging them together to accomplish thegrouping. This overlaying may also be accomplished by dragging togetherthe two or more application representations so that they are stacked ontop of one another. Again, the dragging may be accomplished by using apinch-to-zoom motion of two or more of a user's fingers, with eachfinger laid over a running application of the two or more runningapplications. The created group representation 530 indicates to the userthat there are still two applications running designated under the onerepresentation (icon, for example). The combined group representationmay be created from a home screen displayed on the touch screen in whichthe two or more application representations are displayed, though notrequired. While the combined group representation is formed by groupingtogether two application representations 522 and 524, it is understandthat the combined group representation may be representative of otherrunning applications, so that adding icon 526 to the stack will resultin a combined group representation that includes three runningapplications.

As shown in FIG. 5b , the combined group representation 530 is formed ofthe two running applications represented by icons 522 and 524; the iconsare grouped, such as by stacking as shown here, to form the combinedgroup representation. Once the combined group representation 530 isselected or activated by a user, as indicated by circle 532representative of a finger, digit or other stylus, the device 510 entersa split screen mode in which each of the running applicationsrepresented by the icons of the combined group representation 530 willbe maximized (opened) and simultaneously displayed in the viewable area520 of the touch screen, as shown in FIG. Sc. The user can press thecombined group representation 530 on the touch screen, in the samemanner they would to select any standard icon, and this action opensboth applications in the split screen mode as shown in FIG. 5c . Oncethe two or more applications are open, one is designated as the activeapplication, meaning it can accept any user inputs from the touchscreen, keyboard, mouse or other peripheral. The icon on top of thecombined group representation stack 530 is icon 524 in this example, andin accordance with certain examples the running application representedby icon 524 will be the active application when the combined grouprepresentation 530 is selected and a split screen mode of the device isentered.

While the combined group representation in this example is formed bygrouping together two application representations 522 and 524, it isunderstand that the combined group representation may be representativeof other running applications, so that adding icon 526 to the stack willresult in a combined group representation representative of threerunning applications. Any number of application representations may begrouped to form a combined group representation. Activation of acombined group representation comprised of three or more applicationrepresentations will cause the three or more running applicationsrepresented to be opened and simultaneously displayed in variouscorresponding split screen mode viewing areas of the viewable area ofthe touch screen. It is understood that from a practical standpoint,however, that the number of applications to be represented by a combinedgroup representation may be limited by the touch screen size, as it isdesired that any maximized and displayed application in the split screenmode will be viewed in a large enough split screen mode viewing area ofthe viewable area of the touch screen as to be useful.

Electronic devices with full touch screens have a constant touch screensize and resolution that equates to a specific aspect ratio of theviewable area of the touch screen. This aspect ratio is used inapplication software coding to allow an application to be optimized forthe full screen experience. In order to display two or more applicationssimultaneously in a split screen mode, “simultasking,” it is desiredthat two or more applications are simultaneously displayed withouthaving to reprogram the applications' coding for multiple view states toallow for both full screen mode as well as split screen mode. Inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure, multiple applications can besimultaneously displayed on a touch screen of an electronic device orsingly in a full screen mode without changes to the applications'programming being required.

Electronic device displays, including mobile device displays, are oftenrectangular in shape with a constant aspect ratio and can be oriented inboth “landscape” and “portrait” layouts or orientations. Theseorientation definitions are used to properly display in a maximizedstate two or more applications at once without the need for applicationdevelopers to rework their application(s), effectively allowing thedisclosed examples to be used with any application, as applicationdevelopers of touch screen mode applications develop their applicationsto be viewed in either landscape or portrait orientation. To accommodatethe split screen mode, then, when the device is in a landscapeorientation, the running applications of the combined grouprepresentation opened in the split screen mode will be simultaneouslydisplayed in portrait state on the touch screen. Conversely, when thedevice is in a portrait orientation, the running applications of thecombined group representation opened in the split screen mode will besimultaneously displayed in landscape state on the touch screen. This ispossible due to the common aspect ratios used for touch screen devices,referenced below, and preserves the aspect ratio coded in theapplications, thereby avoiding the need for reprogramming. For example,when the viewable area of the touch screen is split in half in order todisplay two running applications of a combined group representation, thetwo resulting split screen mode viewing areas of the touch screen inwhich the two applications will be simultaneously displayed will eachhave aspect ratios that are close to be converse that of the full touchscreen 520. The differences between ratios can be accommodated by thegraphical frames used to define and divide the split screen mode viewingareas of the touch screen. Some border area remaining can be used tosignify which of the displayed running applications is the activeapplication, as discussed below.

In FIG. 5c , it can be seen that device 510 is in a landscapeorientation and that maximized, running applications 552 and 554,corresponding to icons 522 and 524, respectively, are displayed in aportrait orientation in respective split screen mode viewing areas 550,as opposed to the landscape orientation of device 510. Each split screenmode viewing area 550 is defined by a corresponding graphical frame 540.As icon 524 was on top of the stack of combined group representation530, its maximized application 554 is active and able to accept inputs.The active state of application 554 is indicated by a highlightedportion 542 of the viewable area 520 of the touch screen. Similarly,FIG. 5d shows electronic device 510 in a portrait orientation and themaximized, running applications are shown in a landscape orientation 560in the split screen mode viewing areas 550. Application 554 is still theactive application and its split screen mode viewing area 550 issurrounded by a highlighted portion 542 of the viewable area of thetouch screen. The highlighted portion 542 of the viewable area of thetouch screen serves to highlight or draw attention to the active stateof application 554. In FIGS. 5c and 5d , the highlighted portion 542occupies the available areas of the viewable area 520 surrounding activeapplication 554, but it is understood that the shape and extent ofhighlighted portion 542 may be changed as desired, so long ashighlighted portion 542 highlights the active state of application 554.

It is noted that in order to display the running, maximized applications552 and 554 in the touch screen display, the split screen mode viewingareas 550 in which they are simultaneously displayed occupy asubstantial majority of the viewable area of the touch screen 520. Thisallocation allows the display of the maximized applications to be easilyviewed by the user. The highlighted portion 542 of the viewable area ofthe touch screen can be used to fill any remaining area of the viewablearea. The exact size of the highlighted portion can vary depending onhow many applications are maximized and displayed in the split screenmode of the electronic device 510.

Referring now to FIGS. 6a-b and 7a-b , it can be seen that the activeapplication displayed in the split screen mode can be changed orswitched. The active application refers to the application of themaximized, running applications displayed in the split screen mode thatis capable of accepting inputs, such as from a user providing inputs viathe touch screen 520 of the device 510 or via peripherals, such as akeyboard, mouse, etc., that may be coupled to device 510. Once the twoor more running applications are open and simultaneously displayed, oneapplication is designated as active to accept user inputs. Selection ofone of the other running, inactive applications, such as by a long pressinside the inactive application, will activate that application andcause it to be the active application. In FIG. 6a , mobile device 510 isshown in landscape orientation and applications 552 and 554 aredisplayed in their respective split screen mode viewing areas inportrait orientation. Application 554 is still active, as indicated bythe highlighted portion 542 surrounding the graphical frame that definesits split screen mode viewing area. In order to switch from application554 to application 552 as the active, running application displayed inthe split screen mode, a user may make a long press 610 on thenon-active application 552, as shown in the drawing. This selection hasthe effect, shown in FIG. 6b , of making application 552 the active,running application; highlighted portion 542 now surrounds the splitscreen mode viewing area in which application 552 is displayed. Thus,switching active control of the two or more running applications from aprevious running application as the active application to a new runningapplication as the active application can be accomplished. It has beenshown that this switching active control may be accomplished byselecting the new running application to be active via the touch screen.Moreover, the previous running application can be the active applicationthat was designated as active upon creating the combined grouprepresentation. In the example of FIGS. 5a-5d , application 554 was theinitial active application so designated upon forming the combined groupicon 530.

In FIG. 7a , mobile device 510 is shown in portrait orientation andapplications 552 and 554 are displayed in their respective split screenmode viewing areas in landscape orientation. Application 554 is stillactive, as indicated by the highlighted portion 542 surrounding thegraphical frame that defines its split screen mode viewing area. Inorder to switch from application 554 to application 552 as the active,running application displayed in the split screen mode, a user may makea long press 710 on the non-active application 552, as shown in thedrawing. This selection has the effect, shown in FIG. 7b , of makingapplication 552 the active, running application; highlighted portion 542now surrounds the split screen mode viewing area in which application552 is displayed.

Once in the split screen mode of the touch screen, the split screen modecan be exited in several ways. Returning to the home screen displayed onthe viewable area of the touch screen, minimizing to a minimized stateof display the two or more running applications, opening and displayingan activate applications switcher in the viewable area of the touchscreen, or ungrouping the combined group representation 530 will allhave the affect of exiting the split screen mode. Note that exiting thesplit screen mode does not itself destroy the combined grouprepresentation 530, which may still be displayed in the viewable area oftouch screen 520 for selection at a future time until such time as thecombined group representation 530 is ungrouped.

It may be desired, however, to dismantle or de-group the combined grouprepresentation 530. Referring now to FIG. 8a , it can be seen that thecombined group representation 530 can be or ungrouped dismantled intoits constituent running application representations that correspond tothe minimized state of display of the two or more running applications,if desired. Ungrouping the combined group representation comprisesseparating the two or more application representations corresponding tothe two or more running applications so that they are no longer grouped.This ungrouping may be accomplished by pinching the two or moreapplications icons away from each other, or pinching the two minimizedapplications (screenshots) away from each other. It is noted that in thecase of three or more running applications represented by a combinedgroup representation, separating any two of the running applicationrepresentations will have the effect of ungrouping the combined grouprepresentation without the need to separate all of the runningapplication representations. In the example shown in FIG. 8a , thisungrouping can be accomplished by the user using a pinch-to-zoom awaymotion with two or more of fingers, with each finger laid over a runningapplication of the two or more running applications, as indicated byreference number 810 and the arrows. Decoupling the combined grouprepresentation into its constituent running application representationsresults in running application representations 522, 524, 526 beingdisplayed in the viewable area of the touch screen as before, shown inFIG. 8 b.

As previously mentioned, electronic device displays, including mobiledevice displays, are often rectangular in shape with a constant aspectratio and can be oriented in both “landscape” and “portrait” layouts ororientations. These orientation definitions are used to properly displayin a maximized state two or more applications at once without the needfor application developers to rework their application(s), effectivelyallowing the disclosed examples to be used with any application, asapplication developers of touch screen mode applications develop theirapplications to be viewed in either landscape or portrait orientation.This display method is possible due to the common aspect ratios used fortouch screen devices, referenced below. For example, when the viewablearea of the touch screen is split in half in order to display tworunning applications of a combined group representation, the tworesulting split screen mode viewing areas of the touch screen in whichthe two applications will be simultaneously displayed will each haveaspect ratios that are close to be converse that of the full touchscreen 520. The differences between ratios can be accommodated by thegraphical frames used to define and divide the split screen mode viewingareas of the touch screen.

Referring now to FIGS. 9a-d , examples of the aspect ratio of the touchscreen vis-à-vis two resulting split screen mode viewing areas of thetouch screen are illustrated. FIG. 9a shows an electronic device 510 ina landscape orientation; its touch screen 520 has an aspect ratio of16:9 for landscape orientation. FIG. 9b illustrates two applications 910and 920 that have been simultaneously displayed in the split screen modein a portrait orientation. The aspect ratio of each portrait-orientedsplit screen mode viewing area in which the application is displayed isthe converse that of the landscape-oriented full touch screen, or 9:16.Similarly, FIG. 9c shows electronic device 510 in a portraitorientation; its touch screen 520 has an aspect ratio of 16:9 forportrait orientation. FIG. 9d illustrates two applications 910 and 920simultaneously displayed in the split screen mode in landscapeorientation.

FIGS. 10 and 11, illustrate representative examples of runningapplications that have been maximized and displayed in their respectivesplit screen mode viewing areas in the split screen mode after thecombined group representation in which they are represented has beenselected. In FIG. 10, a user of an electronic device with a touch screenis composing an email. Two maximized and displayed running applicationsare shown: an email application in the left split screen mode viewingarea and a web browser application in the right split screen modeviewing area. The split screen mode is used to get content for theiremail using the web browser. In FIG. 11, a user is playing a video game.Two maximized and displayed running applications are shown: a video gameapplication in the left split screen mode viewing area and a strategyguide application in the right split screen mode viewing area. The splitscreen mode is used to read the strategy guide for the game while theuser is actually playing the video game displayed in the left splitscreen mode viewing area.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the disclosure, two or morerunning applications of the combined group representation may have ashare function relationship that is formed upon creation of the combinedgroup representation, so that in response to selection of the combinedgroup representation and simultaneous display in the viewable area ofthe touch screen of the two or more running applications, a sharefunction of the share function relationship permits sharing of itemsbetween the two or more running applications thus displayed. The sharefunction may be a copy and paste function that provides for copying oneor more items displayed by a first running application of the two ormore running applications and pasting the one or more copied items intoa second running application of the two or more running applications.The copy and paste function may be accomplished by a drag-and-dropaction as will be discussed. Moreover, the share function may be anattach file function that provides for transmitting a file attachment ofa first running application of the two or more running applications to asecond running application of the two or more running applications; thisattach file function could also be accomplished by a drag-and-dropaction. Additionally, the share function could be an insert functionthat provides for inserting one or more items displayed by a firstrunning application into a second running application of the two or morerunning applications; this insert function could also be accomplished bya drag-and-drop action. Thus, when running applications are grouped inthe combined group representation, they can have a special relationshipthat allows copy and pasting, or transferring items from one “window” orsplit screen mode viewing area to the other using drag and drop. It isnoted that the share function relationship formed between the first andsecond running applications of the combined group representation may endwhen the combined group representation is dismantled.

Referring now to FIGS. 12a-d, 13a-d, 14a-d, and 15a-d , various examplesof a share function of the share function relationship between two ormore running applications resulting from creation of a combined grouprepresentation representative of the two or more running applicationsare illustrated. It has been discussed that when running applicationsare grouped in the combined group representation, they can have aspecial relationship, such as a share function relationship, whichallows copy and pasting, or transferring items from one “window” orsplit screen mode viewing area to the other using drag and drop. Theshare function relationship also allows for an attach file function, aswell as an insert function as shown below.

In FIG. 12a , following selection of a combined group representation twomaximized and displayed running applications represented in the selectedcombined group representation are shown: an email application isdisplayed in the left split screen mode viewing area and a web browserapplication is displayed in the right split screen mode viewing area.The user in this example is composing an email and is able to use theshare function existing between these two running applications while inthe split screen mode to drag and drop pictures from the web browserinto the email body. This example of a “copy and paste” share functionallows a user to copy and paste a picture from the web browser to theemail body. In FIG. 12b , the user is able to select an item in the webbrowser application, in this example a car, as indicated by circle 1210;this selection may be accomplished by a user pressing on the picture ofthe car on the touch screen. Next, in FIG. 12c , the user can drag theselected picture item from the web browser application displayed in theright split screen mode viewing area over to the left split screen modeviewing area, as indicated by the dashed box 1220 surrounding theselected picture item and the accompanying arrows in FIG. 12c . Finally,in FIG. 12d , the user released the picture item in the desired locationof the email application displayed in the left split screen mode viewingarea 1230. This release may be accomplished by the user removing hisfinger from the selected picture item when the picture is in the desiredlocation. In this way, a user of an electronic device can easily dragand drop a selected item from a first running application to a secondrunning application, both simultaneously maximized and displayed inlarge split screen mode viewing areas of the touch screen of theelectronic device. Examples of other items that may be transferred usinga copy and paste function include text content, links, as well as thepicture or photo in this example.

FIGS. 13a-d illustrate that the share function between two or morerunning applications maximized and simultaneously displayed in splitscreen mode viewing areas of the touch screen may be an “insert”function that allows items such as pictures, photos, songs, video,locations, contacts, calendar events, etc. to be inserted from a firstrunning application to a second running application. In FIG. 13a ,following selection of a combined group representation two maximized anddisplayed running applications represented in the selected combinedgroup representation are shown: a presentation application, such asPOWER POINT®, is displayed in the left split screen mode viewing areaand a photo application is displayed in the right split screen modeviewing area. The user in this example is creating a presentation and isable to use the share function existing between these two runningapplications while in the split screen mode to drag and drop picturesfrom the photo application into the presentation application. Thisexample of an insert share function allows a user to insert a picturefrom the photo application into the presentation application. In FIG.13b , the user presses on the desired picture in the right split screenmode viewing area of the touch screen, as indicated by the circle 1310,to select the picture. Next, in FIG. 13c , the user drags the selectedpicture into the presentation application in the left split screen modeviewing area of the touch screen, as indicated by the dashed box 1320surrounded the selected picture and the accompanying arrows in thedrawing. The selected picture is dragged in to the presentationapplication displayed in the left split screen mode viewing area of thetouch screen and released in the desired location 1330 in FIG. 13d . Theitem in this application is a stored picture file, such as a file storedon the device, which can be inserted as shown.

It is noted that in the “copy and paste” function of FIG. 12,information available from open applications, though not necessarilystored, may be quickly copied and pasted in various applications,without the need to retrieve the copied and pasted information fromstorage. In the “insert” function illustrated in FIG. 13, a file typestored on device memory, such as a stored picture, contact, video, etc.for example, may be retrieved and inserted, or attached, as shown above.

FIGS. 14a-d illustrate that the share function between two or morerunning applications maximized and simultaneously displayed in splitscreen mode viewing areas of the touch screen may be an “attach file”function that allows items such as pictures, photos, songs, video,locations, contacts, calendar events, etc. to be transferred from onemaximized and displayed running application to another as attachments.Applications that might use the attach file function are varied andinclude applications such as email, instant messaging, BLACKBERRY®messenger (BBM), short message service (SMS), multimedia messagingservice (MMS), etc. In FIG. 14a , following selection of a combinedgroup representation two maximized and displayed running applicationsrepresented in the selected combined group representation are shown: aninstant messaging (IM) application is displayed in the left split screenmode viewing area and a music application is displayed in the rightsplit screen mode viewing area. The user in this example is chattingusing an IM application and is able to use the share function existingbetween these two running applications while in the split screen mode todrag and drop songs from the music application into the IM application.This example of an attach file share function allows a user to send asong attachment from the music application to the IM application. InFIG. 14b , the user presses on a desired song in the right split screenmode viewing area of the touch screen, as indicated by the circle 1410,to select the song. Next, in FIG. 14c , the user drags the selected songinto the IM application in the left split screen mode viewing area ofthe touch screen, as indicated by the dashed box 1420 surrounded theselected picture and the accompanying arrows in the drawing. Theselected song is dragged in to the IM application displayed in the leftsplit screen mode viewing area of the touch screen and released in thedesired location 1430 in FIG. 14d , into a conversation of the IMapplication to send to a friend.

Another example of an attach file function shared between two maximizedand simultaneously displayed running applications is illustrated inFIGS. 15a -d.

In FIG. 15a , following selection of a combined group representation twomaximized and displayed running applications represented in the selectedcombined group representation are shown: an email application isdisplayed in the left split screen mode viewing area and an address bookapplication is displayed in the right split screen mode viewing area.The user in this example is composing an email and uses the split screenmode to drag and drop contacts from the address book application intothe body of an email in the email application. This example of an attachfile share function allows a user to attach a contact from the addressbook application to the body of an email in the email application. InFIG. 15b , the user presses on a desired contact in the right splitscreen mode viewing area of the touch screen, as indicated by the circle1510, to select the contact. Next, in FIG. 15c , the user drags theselected contact into the email application in the left split screenmode viewing area of the touch screen, as indicated by the dashed box1520 surrounded the selected contact and the accompanying arrows in thedrawing. The selected contact is dragged in to the email applicationdisplayed in the left split screen mode viewing area of the touch screenand released in the desired location into the email body 1530 in FIG.15d , as shown.

In accordance with the various examples described herein, a method flow1600 is illustrated in FIG. 16. At Block 1610, a combined grouprepresentation representative of two or more running applications isselected. As discussed, the combined group representation comprises twoor more application representations corresponding to minimized states ofdisplay of the two or more running applications that are grouped anddisplayed on a viewable area of the touch screen. At Block 1620, inresponse to selection of the combined group representation, a splitscreen mode is entered, and in the split screen mode the two or morerunning applications are opened and simultaneously displayed in theviewable area of the touch screen. One of the running applications thusdisplayed may be active and capable of receiving user inputs.

A more detailed flow in accordance with various examples describedherein is provided by flow 1700 of FIG. 17. At Block 1710, two or moreapplication representations, corresponding to two or more runningapplications, are grouped together on the touch screen to create acombined group representation representative of the two or more runningapplications. As discussed, the application representations may be anicon, a screen shot or other representation of the running applicationto which it corresponds. The combined group representation may be agroup icon or be shown as stacked to convey that the combined grouprepresentation is comprised of two or more running applications.Creation of the combined group representation may involve overlaying onthe touch screen the two or more application representationscorresponding to the two or more running applications; such overlayingmay be accomplished by dragging together the two or more applicationrepresentations so that they are stacked on top of one another, asearlier described, or by pinching together the two or more applicationrepresentations. Creation of the combined group representation may occurfrom a home screen displayed on the touch screen in which the two ormore application representations are displayed.

Decision Block 1715 inquires into whether the created combined grouprepresentation has been selected. If yes, then the flow goes to Block1720 to enter a split screen mode. The viewing orientation of the touchscreen, such as portrait or landscape, is determined at Block 1730. Eachrunning application represented in the combined group representation isopened and simultaneously displayed in its own split screen mode viewingarea of the viewable area of the touch screen, and is displayed in aviewing orientation opposite that of the touch screen viewingorientation at Block 1740, (e.g., a portrait orientation having a 9:16aspect ratio versus a landscape orientation having a 16:9 aspect ratio).

Optionally, active control of the displayed running applications in thesplit screen mode may be switched at Block 1750 if desired. While theapplication on top of the combined group representation stack mayinitially be active and highlighted to signify its status as the activeapplication, this active control can be changed at any time desired, bythe user selecting another application of the displayed applications tobe active. Also optionally, at Block 1760, the current active runningapplication may be highlighted as previously described to signify thecurrent active application.

At Decision Block 1765, a number of actions may cause the split screenmode to be exited at Block 1770. Returning to the home screen,minimizing the maximized running applications, and/or opening anddisplaying an activate applications switcher in the viewable area of thetouch screen may all cause the split screen mode to be exited at Block1770. As discussed, exiting the split screen mode does not itself causethe combined group representation to be dismantled. This ungroupingoccurs at Block 1780, and is an optional operation that may or may notoccur. The ungrouping action taken in Block 1780 occurs by ungrouping(removing, separating, etc.) at least one of the applicationrepresentations of the combined group representation. As discussed, thisungrouping may occur by a user pinching two or more applications iconsaway from each other, or by pinching the two minimized applications(screenshots) away from each other. It is noted that in the case ofthree or more running applications represented by a combined grouprepresentation, separating any two of the running applicationrepresentations will have the effect of ungrouping the combined grouprepresentation without the need to separate all of the runningapplication representations.

The order in which the optional operations represented in Blocks 1750,1760, and 1780 occur is not predetermined or predefined, and theseoperations may occur in any order or not at all after occurrence of theoperation of Block 1740. Thus, while the blocks comprising the methodsare shown as occurring in a particular order, it will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that many of the blocks are interchangeable andcan occur in different orders than that shown without materiallyaffecting the end results of the methods.

The implementations of the present disclosure described above areintended to be examples only. Those of skill in the art can effectalterations, modifications and variations to the particular exampleembodiments herein without departing from the intended scope of thepresent disclosure. Moreover, selected features from one or more of theabove-described example embodiments can be combined to createalternative example embodiments not explicitly described herein.

It will be appreciated that any module or component disclosed hereinthat executes instructions may include or otherwise have access tonon-transient and tangible computer readable media such as storagemedia, computer storage media, or data storage devices (removable ornon-removable) such as, for example, magnetic disks, optical disks, ortape data storage. Computer storage media may include volatile andnon-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information, such as computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data.Examples of computer storage media include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flashmemory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD)or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other mediumwhich can be used to store the desired information and which can beaccessed by an application, module, or both. Any such computer storagemedia may be part of the server, any component of or related to thenetwork, backend, etc., or accessible or connectable thereto. Anyapplication or module herein described may be implemented using computerreadable/executable instructions that may be stored or otherwise held bysuch computer readable media.

The present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive. The scope of the disclosure is, therefore,indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription. All changes that come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for displaying maximized applicationssimultaneously on a touch screen of an electronic device, comprising:selecting a combined group representation representative of two or moreapplications, the combined group representation comprising two or moreapplication representations that are grouped and displayed on a viewablearea of the touch screen, the two or more application representationscorresponding to the two or more applications and the combined grouprepresentation created from a home screen displayed on the viewable areaof the touch screen of the electronic device by a user in interactionwith the touch screen to overlay on the touch screen the two or moreapplication representations corresponding to the two or moreapplications, wherein overlaying on the touch screen the two or moreapplication representations corresponding to the two or moreapplications further comprises one or more of the user pinching togetherthe two or more application representations from the home screen tocreate the combined group representation and the user dragging togetherthe two or more application representations from the home screen tocreate the combined group representation; in response to selection ofthe combined group representation, entering a split screen mode and inthe split screen mode running and simultaneously displaying in theviewable area of the touch screen each of the two or more runningapplications in a corresponding split screen mode viewing area of theviewable area of the touch screen; and ungrouping the combined grouprepresentation representative of two or more applications into the twoor more application representations and displaying in the viewable areaof the touch screen the two or more application representations inresponse to separation of the grouped two or more applicationrepresentations on the touch screen in a pinch to zoom away motion withtwo or more of the user's fingers so that they are no longer grouped,wherein when the combined group representation comprises three or moreapplication representations ungrouping any two of the three or moreapplication representations ungroups the combined group representationinto the three or more application representations.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: highlighting the split screen mode viewingarea of an active application with a highlighted portion of the viewablearea of the touch screen distinct from the two or more split screen modeviewing areas in which the two or more running applications aredisplayed.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the viewable area of thetouch screen has a constant aspect ratio, the two or more runningapplications are first and second running applications, and first andsecond split screen mode viewing areas in which the first and secondrunning applications are displayed each have an aspect ratio that isapproximately converse that of the constant aspect ratio of the viewablearea of the touch screen.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein when thecombined group representation is comprises four or more applicationrepresentations ungrouping any two of the four or more applicationrepresentations ungroups the combined group representation into the fouror more application representations.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe touch screen has first and second viewing orientations, the firstviewing orientation converse to the second viewing orientation, and inresponse to selection of the combined group representation, the methodfurther comprising: determining a viewing orientation of the touchscreen to be the first viewing orientation; and running andsimultaneously displaying in two or more corresponding split screen modeviewing areas of the viewable area of the touch screen the two or morerunning applications in the second viewing orientation.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein one running application is active and capable ofreceiving user inputs via the touch screen, the method furthercomprising: switching active control of the two or more runningapplications from a previous running application as active applicationto another running application of the two or more running applicationsas the active application.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:exiting the split screen mode of the touch screen, wherein exiting thesplit screen mode of the touch screen further comprises one or more ofreturning to the home screen displayed on the viewable area of the touchscreen, minimizing to a minimized state of display the two or morerunning applications, and opening and displaying an activateapplications switcher in the viewable area of the touch screen.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the two or more applications of the combinedgroup representation have a share function relationship formed uponcreation of the combined group representation, and in response toselection of the combined group representation and simultaneousdisplaying in the viewable area of the touch screen of the two or morerunning applications in the split screen mode, the method furthercomprising: a share function of the share function relationshippermitting sharing of items between the two or more running applicationsof the combined group representation in the split screen mode, whereinthe share function is one or more of a copy and paste function thatprovides for copying one or more items displayed by a first runningapplication of the two or more running applications and pasting the oneor more copied items into a second running application of the two ormore running applications, an attach file function that provides fortransmitting a file attachment of a first running application of the twoor more running applications to a second running application of the twoor more running applications, and an insert function that provides forinserting one or more items displayed by a first running applicationinto a second running application of the two or more runningapplications, and the method further comprising: ending the sharefunction relationship formed between the first and second applicationsof the combined group representation upon ungrouping of the combinedgroup representation into the two or more application representations.9. The method of claim 1, further comprising prior to selecting thecombined group representation representative of the two or moreapplications: creating from the home screen displayed on the viewablearea of the touch screen the combined group representationrepresentative of the two or more applications by overlaying on thetouch screen the two or more application representations responsive tothe user in interaction with the touch screen using a pinch-to-zoommotion of two or more of the user's fingers each laid over anapplication of the two or more application representations.
 10. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with instructionscapable of being executed by a computer, wherein execution of theinstructions capable of being executed by a computer is for: selecting acombined group representation representative of two or moreapplications, the combined group representation comprising two or moreapplication representations that are grouped and displayed on a viewablearea of a touch screen, the two or more application representationscorresponding to the two or more applications and the combined grouprepresentation created from a home screen displayed on the viewable areaof the touch screen of the electronic device by a user in interactionwith the touch screen to overlay on the touch screen the two or moreapplication representations corresponding to the two or moreapplications, wherein overlaying on the touch screen the two or moreapplication representations corresponding to the two or moreapplications further comprises one or more of the user pinching togetherthe two or more application representations from the home screen tocreate the combined group representation and the user dragging togetherthe two or more application representations from the home screen tocreate the combined group representation; in response to selection ofthe combined group representation, entering a split screen mode and inthe split screen mode running and simultaneously displaying in theviewable area of the touch screen each of the two or more runningapplications in a corresponding split screen mode viewing area of theviewable area of the touch screen; and ungrouping the combined grouprepresentation representative of two or more applications into the twoor more application representations and displaying in the viewable areaof the touch screen the two or more application representations inresponse to separation of the grouped two or more applicationrepresentations on the touch screen in a pinch to zoom away motion withtwo or more of the user's fingers so that they are no longer grouped,wherein when the combined group representation comprises three or moreapplication representations ungrouping any two of the three or moreapplication representations ungroups the combined group representationinto the three or more application representations.
 11. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein when thecombined group representation comprises four or more applicationrepresentations ungrouping any two of the four or more applicationrepresentations ungroups the combined group representation into the fouror more application representations.
 12. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 10, further comprising prior to selecting thecombined group representation representative of the two or moreapplications: creating from the home screen displayed on the viewablearea of the touch screen the combined group representationrepresentative of the two or more applications by overlaying on thetouch screen the two or more application representations responsive tothe user in interaction with the touch screen using a pinch-to-zoommotion of two or more of the user's fingers each laid over anapplication of the two or more application representations.
 13. Anelectronic device, comprising: a touch-sensitive touch screen; aprocessor coupled to the touch screen; a memory coupled to and incooperative arrangement with the processor, the processor and the memoryconfigured to: select a combined group representation representative oftwo or more applications, the combined group representation comprisingtwo or more application representations that are grouped and displayedon a viewable area of the touch screen, the two or more applicationrepresentations corresponding to the two or more applications and thecombined group representation created from a home screen displayed onthe viewable area of the touch sensitive touch screen of the electronicdevice by a user in interaction with the touch screen of the electronicdevice to overlay on the touch screen the two or more applicationrepresentations corresponding to the two or more applications, whereinto overlay on the touch screen the two or more applicationrepresentations corresponding to the two or more applications furthercomprises one or more of the user pinching together the two or moreapplication representations from the home screen to create the combinedgroup representation and the user dragging together the two or moreapplication representations from the home screen to create the combinedgroup representation; in response to selection of the combined grouprepresentation, enter a split screen mode and in the split screen moderun and simultaneously display in the viewable area of the touch screeneach of the two or more running applications in a corresponding splitscreen mode viewing area of the viewable area of the touch screen; andungroup the combined group representation representative of two or moreapplications into the two or more application representations anddisplay in the viewable area of the touch screen the two or moreapplication representations in response to separation of the grouped twoor more application representations on the touch screen in a pinch tozoom away motion with two or more of the user's fingers so that they areno longer grouped, wherein when the combined group representationcomprises three or more application representations ungrouping any twoof the three or more application representations ungroups the combinedgroup representation into the three or more application representations.14. The device of claim 13, wherein simultaneous display of the two ormore running applications occurs in two or more corresponding splitscreen mode viewing areas of the viewable area of the touch screen. 15.The device of claim 14, the processor and memory further configured to:highlight the split screen mode viewing area of the active applicationwith a highlighted portion of the viewable area of the touch screendistinct from the two or more split screen mode viewing areas in whichthe two or more running applications are displayed.
 16. The device ofclaim 13, wherein the two or more application representations are two ormore icons each corresponding to one of the two or more applications andwherein the combined group representation comprises the two or moreicons grouped together and displayed on the touch screen.
 17. The deviceof claim 13, wherein the touch screen has first and second viewingorientations and in response to selection of the combined grouprepresentation, the processor and the memory further configured to:determine the viewing orientation of the touch screen to be the firstviewing orientation; and open and simultaneously display in two or morecorresponding split screen mode viewing areas of the viewable area ofthe touch screen the two or more running applications in the secondviewing orientation.
 18. The device of claim 13, wherein one runningapplication is active and capable of receiving user inputs via the touchscreen and the processor and the memory are further configured to switchactive control of the two or more running applications from a previousrunning application as the active application to another runningapplication of the two or more running applications as the activeapplication.
 19. The device of claim 13, the processor and the memoryfurther configured to exit the split screen mode of the touch screenupon an occurrence of one or more of return to the home screen displayedon the viewable area of the touch screen, minimize to a minimized stateof display the two or more running applications, and open and display anactivate applications switcher in the viewable area of the touch screen.20. The device of claim 13, when the combined group representationcomprises four or more application representations ungrouping any two ofthe four or more application representations ungroups the combined grouprepresentation into the four or more application representations. 21.The device of claim 13, the processor and the memory further configuredto create a share function relationship between the two or more runningapplications represented by the combined group representation uponcreation of the combined group representation, wherein the two or morerunning applications represented by the combined group representationshare one or more share functions in the split screen mode.
 22. Thedevice of claim 21, wherein the one or more share functions comprise oneor more of a copy and paste function, an attach file function and aninsert function.
 23. The device of claim 21, the processor and thememory further configured to end the share function relationship betweenthe two or more running applications of the combined grouprepresentation when the combined group representation is ungrouped. 24.The electronic device of claim 13, the processor and the memory furtherconfigured to: in a split screen mode of the electronic device run andsimultaneously display in the viewable area of the touch screen firstand second running applications in respective first and second splitscreen mode viewing areas, each of the first and second split screenmode viewing areas having an aspect ratio that is approximately conversethat of a constant aspect ratio of the viewable area of the touchscreen.
 25. The electronic device of claim 13, the processor and thememory further configured to: prior to selection of the combined grouprepresentation representative of two or more applications, create fromthe home screen displayed on the viewable area of the touch screen thecombined group representation representative of the two or moreapplications in response to the user in interaction with the touchscreen using a pinch-to-zoom motion of two or more of the user's fingerseach laid over an application of the two or more applicationrepresentations to overlay the two or more application representations.